Blue Eyes
by MyCurrentObsession
Summary: The one where Haruka is a girl.
1. Boy Meets Girl

AN - The title has nothing to do with anything. For the life of me I COULD NOT think of a title this time. This is not going to be a cohesive narrative; this is going to be a collection of related oneshots in the same universe - that universe being that Haru is a girl (and so is Rei because I like to torment him I guess). Every piece will be set at varying times along the canon timeline, and it's up to you the reader to catch on quickly. It shouldn't be that hard. The idea for this style (and a genderswap at all) was taken from half_sleeping's Burning Bright and Miracles (found on AO3 only, as far as I can tell). Both of these are infinitely better than anything I could ever hope to publish. So if you like MY work and you like KnB go show her some love. Seriously.

* * *

He's four years old when he meets her.

Apparently, _his_ mother is a college friend of _her_ mother, and after his family moved the two women conveniently live quite close to each other, so it seems only natural to introduce their two children.

The ladies greet like old friends — which is what they are, he supposes — with Makoto clutching his mother's hand tightly and staring at the girl sitting on the steps with her face turned away from the scene.

She has her head in her hand and a scowl on her face. She looks bored, and also utterly uninterested. Despite this, Makoto thinks she's kind of cute.

Cute, but not nearly as cute as the little blue-haired girl he and his mother passed by on the way here that he's certain he's going to marry someday if only he gets the chance to see her again.

The little blue-haired girl had a mane of messy hair done up in two low pigtails that looked _adorable_, and a radiant smile.

In comparison, this girl looks entirely plain, with simple raven looks reaching just past her shoulders and an unattractive frown adorning her lips.

"Makoto," his mother calls for his attention. She places a hand on his back to push him forward a little, towards the strange and discontent girl. "Why don't you introduce yourself? Go say hi!"

He doesn't see much point in it, as she seems dead-set on ignoring the world around her, but he'd never go against his mother, so he steps forward until he's directly in front of the girl.

When still she pays him no heed, he clears his throat uncomfortably. "Um…"

She is adamant in her decision to disregard everything. Or perhaps, he wonders as he catches a glimmer in her eyes (his breath catches for just a moment; her eyes are _beautiful _and deep and blue and…) as she looks at something far-off, she simply has something better to give her attention to.

Before he has the chance to follow her gaze and see what's caught her interest, her mother sighs unhappily. "Haruka-chan…"

The effect is instantaneous; the girl's eyes snap to her mother's face, scowl deepening — Makoto hadn't known it was possible — as she grumbles, "Don't call me that."

The woman sags a little, appearing weary as if she's been forced to endure this many times before. "You're my daughter, and I'll call you as I like. It's my right as your mother. I don't know what you have against it, anyway. Haruka-chan is a cute name for a cute little girl."

The girl — Haruka, apparently — glares and holds her ground with a single word, "Still." That said, she seems to consider the argument finished, and promptly turns away again.

Defeated, the girl's mother turns to his mother to confide, "She only lets my mother get away with calling her that. I feel unloved in comparison."

His mom laughs gently and consoles her with a pat on the shoulder. "Now, now… I'm sure that's not the case. She just seems to be the quiet and aloof type."

Makoto squirms awkwardly beside the girl, unsure how to proceed.

His mother catches onto his unease and sends him a small smile before catching the other woman's eyes and inclining her head to the children. Realizing what his mother wants, the woman rolls her eyes before shouting, "Haruka-chan! Introduce yourself to Makoto!"

For a long, tense moment the girl simply _looks_ at her mother and appears to contemplate ignoring her like she did everything else. Then, with a sigh, she finally — _finally!_ — turns to acknowledge him.

Looking at her head-on is quite different from the view he'd caught from the side. Staring directly into her face — he can't help but inhale sharply in awe.

He already knew she had beautiful eyes, but having them bore into his own he feels the power and _force_ storming behind them, almost as if they hold the ocean itself within. They are the right shade of blue for it, he muses.

Her hair is styled simply, but it is a deep and dark black that shines and frames her face wonderfully. Her lips are thin and currently angled down in what is apparently a permanent frown.

He knows instinctively she'd have a gorgeous smile.

Her form is small and graceful as she finally bothers to stand; her skin ivory.

She's beautiful, and she puts the little blue-haired girl to shame.

"Nanase Haruka," she says flatly, not even bothering to extend a hand.

"You're really pretty," he blurts thoughtlessly, and then wishes he could die on the spot.

He doesn't even hear the two women burst into laughter behind him, as he can only focus on Haruka, who… doesn't smile, but her face evens out into a more neutral visage.

He feels victorious anyway.

"Thanks," she says blankly, not giving anything away, "and your name?"

"Makoto!" he says jubilantly, attempting to ignore how warm his cheeks feel, "My name is Tachibana Makoto. It's nice to meet you, uh…" he trails off and ponders what to call her. She had been unhappy being called "Haruka-chan." Was that because of the –chan or because of her name?

Only one way to find out.

"Nice to meet you, Haru-chan."

She stares at him for a moment before saying, "Don't call me –chan."

"Haru, then."

She doesn't say anything to correct him, so he assumes it's acceptable and smiles at her. She allows this for a long, silent moment before looking away just as it gets awkward and sitting down once more on the steps to gaze out at what he can now see is the ocean.

_She's so unsociable_, he hears her mother whisper to his.

It doesn't matter, he thinks. She's still beautiful. He still definitely wants to be friends with her.

Tachibana Makoto is four years old when he meets Nanase Haruka.

He's four years old when he falls in love.

* * *

AN - I decided to post this here as well as on AO3; I debated about not doing so, but... to be honest, while I like reading fics on AO3 better, I vastly prefer the editing system here. I have to fight with the system there when I post stuff. Anyways... do you think the ending line was too much? I contemplated leaving it out, but this IS a shipping fic so I kept it.


	2. When She Smiles

AN - coughs I imagine this takes place like a month before the medley. Something I probably should have mentioned last chapter was that MOST but NOT ALL of the pieces will be from Makoto's perspective. Basically, assume it's him speaking unless specified otherwise. But I do have plans to do at least one piece from Rin's view, and I'm considering some from Nagisa and Haru's as well.

Other than that, Makoto will be flipping between Haruka and Haru a lot. He calls her Haru when actually speaking, but only when they're alone (another piece will eventually explain this). The rest of the time he calls her Haruka unless he slips up, which happens occasionally. He _thinks_ of her with both names, hence the flip-flopping. There's also a reason that Rin calls her Haruka as opposed to Haru. All will make sense in good time.

* * *

They're all hanging around at Haruka's house waiting impatiently for swim practice to start when Nagisa says, "You know, my mom told me that people who smile are healthier."

Makoto smiles and accepts the change of topic — they'd previously been talking about their favorite TV shows and movies, but it had taken very little time to discover they all had radically different tastes, so the subject fell flat quickly — in the conversation, prompting the blond on with, "Oh? That's interesting. How so?"

Nagisa shrugs. "I dunno. She said it was too complicated to go into detail and that I wouldn't understand. All she told me was that it's been sci-un-tifi-cully proven," he pauses as he struggles with the big word, "that people who smile more live longer, healthier lives. They're happier, too."

The petite boy gives a huge grin and continues, "Then she said she was happy I'm always smiling, since it means I'll live a long and great life!"

He exchanges glances with Rin (as opposed to Haru, if only because she's busy staring out the window and only partially paying attention), and he can see in the redhead's eyes that he doubts the blond. They both probably think the same thing — that being that the blond's mother just made up something to please him.

However, neither really has the heart to shut him down, so Rin rolls his eyes and plays along, saying, "That so? I guess that means Haruka is doomed to die young and unhappy, then."

The girl in question sends an annoyed glance at the redhead, and he smirks and sticks his tongue out at her. She huffs and goes back to ignoring him.

Nagisa latches onto the subject, of course. "I thought that, too! Haru-chan never smiles, which is really sad. Especially if it means she's going to die early. I wouldn't want that."

Makoto is about to break in and say that Haru will probably be just fine, but the blond carries on, "That's why I'm thinking we should do our best to make her smile!"

_Pause._

They have Haruka's full attention now. Noticing this, Rin smiles and challenges, "Have you ever smiled, Haruka? I don't think I've seen it yet. It makes me wonder if you're even capable of it."

Nagisa eggs the topic on with, "I bet Haru-chan has a really pretty smile! You should show it to us!"

_She really does_, Makoto thinks as the only person in the room who has seen it. But he'll keep that to himself.

He's allowed to be selfish occasionally. If she doesn't want to smile in front of them, then he's more than happy to be the one person she'll let her guard down around.

Rin snaps his fingers as an idea springs to his mind. "I've got it! Let's have a contest."

He has a bad feeling about this. "Contest…? About what?"

"To see who can get Haruka to smile first, of course!" the redhead says as if it's obvious.

Haru's previously neutral expression slips towards irritation, but before she's able to say something to dismiss the idea her grandmother comes in from the kitchen bearing snacks.

Rin and Nagisa are just a _little_ bit scared of Haruka's grandmother. She's a very nice woman generally, but she has a lot of zest and fighting spirit left in her for such an old lady. As long as she's calm and in a good mood she's a lovely person to be around.

When she's angry, however, she's quite terrifying.

This is something Rin and Nagisa learned firsthand when she caught them in the act of pulling a rather nasty (it was all in good fun, they swear) prank on her dear granddaughter.

(Makoto only vaguely recalls what the prank was about. He believes it was an attempt to temporarily ruin her usual swimsuit so they could force her to wear an embarrassing frilly pink bikini they "just happened" to have on them. Not that it would have done them any good if they _had_ succeeded; Haruka has like five of the exact same swimsuit)

At the time she had smiled and beckoned the two into another room — exempting Makoto, who had been present but not taking part in the prank; merely, unable to stop it — and shutting the door firmly behind her.

They came out ten minutes later looking like they'd been through hell, and absolutely refused to recount what went on behind the closed door. They've been just a bit traumatized ever since.

And so, as the matron of the household enters the room a hush falls upon it as Rin and Nagisa sit up straighter and attempt to look innocuous.

Of course, going to such lengths only draws more attention to them. Haruka's grandmother tosses Makoto and her young ward a bemused glance before standing menacingly in front of the two terrified boys, hands firmly on her hips.

"Well, what do we have here?" she says, giving them the evil eye. He doesn't know how they miss the mirth in her voice, but the two sit frozen in place by her stare. "My, what well behaved little boys you are!"

Nagisa dares to say, "Yes, of course! We would _never_ do any—"

"I don't believe it," she cuts in, suspicion dripping from her tone. "When have boys your age _ever_ behaved? You're not causing trouble for Haruka-chan… _are you_?"

Her voice is utterly ominous, but her shoulders shake with badly suppressed laughter. Still the boys are too terrified to notice as they both stumble over their words, shouting out protest after protest.

Makoto can't help but laugh.

He should probably be scared of her wrath, as well, but he actually isn't. Haruka's grandmother dotes on him almost as much as she does on Haruka.

He doesn't know why, but he's not going to complain.

He glances over at Haruka to find her also enjoying the scene before them. Her irritation is gone, replaced by a subtle — but definitely still there— mirth expressed in her eyes.

Even more than that, though, is that she's smiling.

By nature, Haru is a quiet and reserved person. Her face perfectly reflects that by giving away very little. For Haru, an annoyed glance can be as powerful as potent contempt.

A small smile amounts to just as much as Makoto's wide grins — probably more, as he smiles practically by default, whereas Haruka's every upturned lip is a rare occurrence to be treasured.

And he certainly does treasure every one that she deigns to share with him, breath catching a little every time like it's the first time he's seen it all over again.

If she ever gave him a full-blown smile, he'd probably have a heart attack and die instantly. It would be a happy death, at least.

Still, he thinks it's funny that she's showing one now. Rin and Nagisa are getting exactly what they want, if only they could look away from the intimidating presence of Haruka's grandmother to see it.

By the time the elderly woman has had her fill of teasing the boys and leaves the room, Haruka has long since smoothed her expression back into its blank, impassive state.

As Rin goes on about the "demon woman" with Nagisa chiming in about the unfairness of Makoto not getting scolded along with them and the subject of Haruka smiling is seemingly forgotten, she sends him a glance.

Only he can recognize the amusement that still lingers in her blue eyes, and he feels incredibly lucky when, just barely, her lips twitch up just for him for a brief moment.

He'll cherish this smile just like he has all the ones that came before it, and he hopes desperately that she'll never stop showing him her smiles.

* * *

AN - I like to imagine Haru's grandma as a feisty old lady who takes no shit from young whippersnappers. But she loveslovesloves her granddaughter to death (a good thing given that her parents aren't really around) and she loves Makoto, too. This is because she knew before anyone else that these two were destined to be married one day. That's why she enjoys tormenting Rin; it's payback for getting in the way of her otp (laughs). And Nagisa is just because she likes knowing that she can scare the otherwise uncrackable devil-child. Although to be fair High Speed makes it clear he USED to be a sweet kid. The canon for this fic has him as a troublemaker from the start, though.

I'm afraid that I'm writing Makoto as a little too mushy in love. I dunno, I feel like he could just (internally) go on about how awesome Haru is and how much he likes her, but is that interesting? Your thoughts.


	3. She Is All Grown Up

AN - Without intending to, these titles have turned into tropes. I noticed it after the first two and so deliberately picked this one as such. Haruka is all grown up... and unbeknownst to her Makoto tears his hair out at night worrying about her (laughs). We'll see how long I can continue the trope naming trend...

This one got away from me and ended up kind of long. Don't expect them all to be so long. Also, Nagisa is a devil. I love him, but apparently I'm incapable of writing him doing anything other than mischief. He _does_ care about his friends, mind you; he just expresses it in a more playful, teasing manner.

* * *

They run into some problems when they start looking for a fourth member to make the team official.

Their advisor Ama-chan-sensei is mostly sweet, if a little quirky, but she's quite frank about what the club can and can't do, and how little they have in their budget.

_There's a pool you can swim in_, she says, and Haru's eyes gleam in anticipation. _You have to clean it first_, she omits.

She also seems to know _just_ what to tempt them — namely Haruka — with so they don't just call it quits due to it being too much effort.

Ama-chan-sensei is clearly cut from the same cloth as Nagisa, which automatically makes her at least a little terrifying. You never know when the inner devil will spring out and attack.

_Can't afford an indoor pool_, she says bluntly. _Find a fourth member and win a tournament and the school will give the club money to buy nice things_, she sugarcoats immediately afterwards.

This is no simple task, but Haru hears only what she wants to hear and storms out of the room to find another member posthaste, long hair fluttering behind her.

Makoto can only sigh and follow, knowing in the way only a childhood friend can that her thought process has gone straight to "one more member equals swimming year round," overlooking everything in between.

She stops right in front of two boys chatting in the hall — Makoto vaguely recognizes them from class, though he's certain Haruka has no idea who they are, nor does she care to find out — and declares, "Hey, you."

The boys pause to gaze at the interloper in confusion. After a brief moment, one of them recognizes her and nudges his friend before responding, "Oh, hey. Nanase, wasn't it?"

Standing at her full height of 5"5', she stares the two down with her hands on her hips. "You're not in any clubs, right?"

The boy flounders at the sudden question. "Uh, no?"

Makoto watches the scene from a distance, having long since given up on stopping Haruka when she gets like this. Nagisa snickers beside him.

"Good," Haru says. "You should join the swim team."

The two guys exchange looks, and it's plainly clear even from Makoto's position that they're not interested. However, they also don't want to completely shut Haruka down.

"Because Haru-chan's so pretty they don't want to disappoint her," Nagisa whisper-laughs in his ear. "They're afraid they'll lose their chance with her. Well, not that they have one in the first place!"

And it's true that she has blossomed beautifully. She's been growing her hair out for as long as he's known her, and it falls straight all the way down to the curve of her hips, still pristine and shining black.

(To his knowledge, she has only ever cut her hair once, just after New Year's in seventh grade. Even then, it was really more of a trim than anything; she took off a mere three inches.)

Her face and body has matured into that of a woman's; she wears no makeup, but her skin is spotless, so she doesn't have to.

With as much time as she spends in the bath, her skin is perfectly clean and well moisturized. Under the right light, it glows.

She has curves. They're subtle, but there.

…Not that he's particularly noticed them.

Nope, definitely not.

Some things you just happen to pick up on when you're confronted with the sight of a person in her skintight swimsuit every day. That's all.

The other boy finally speaks up as he tries to find a way to let Haru down easily. "Say, why is the manager the one recruiting? If the swim team really wants us, a member, preferably the captain, should be the one to approach us, you know?"

Haruka stares at them blankly. Even from here, Makoto can see her thinking that they're idiots. She says, "I _am_ a member."

There's a distinct pause as the boys process this. The first one speaks up again with a tentative, "So… it's a girls' swim team? Why are you ask—"

"No, it's not a girls' team. Obviously if that were the case then I wouldn't be asking you."

The second boy asks, "Then, it's…?"

Haruka sighs, and Makoto laughs quietly at the disdain floating just beneath the surface. "Co-ed. It's a swim team with both male and female members. Though I'm the only girl so far."

He watches the two boys process this. Their eyes slowly widen, and the first boy slides his gaze once up and down Haruka's figure before looking away and muttering, "We'll, um. Think about it."

Haru nods and thrusts the carving of Iwatobi-chan into his palm. "Good. I'll give you this." She turns to his friend and bows just slightly, murmuring, "Sorry, but I only have one. I'll give you one later if you join."

Then she looks back at both of them, fire in her eyes, and declares, "If you're interested you and your friends should come to the pool after school."

That said, she walks away. Makoto and Nagisa trail after her.

As they pass by the boys, the second one nudges his friend and says, "Dude. Nanase in a _swimsuit!_"

The first stares at the peculiar thing in his hand, perplexed, and mumbles, "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Nagisa pokes him in the side and exclaims, "That gave me an idea!" _Never a good thing_, Makoto can't help but think. "We should use Haru-chan's sex appeal to attract more members!"

"_Absolutely not!_"

It comes out quicker and more defensive than is probably normal. And Nagisa, the miniature demon, is giving him a _look_. The unnatural smile on his face scares the brunet.

He flails and tries to cover with, "I mean, we're Haruka's friends! We can't use her like that! It's completely wrong!"

Nagisa sighs and lets him get away with it, thankfully. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. Haru-chan wouldn't be happy with us if we tried. And it'd probably fall apart quickly. Haru-chan looks great, but she's like the least sexual girl I know."

He would beg to differ. The older they get — and coincidentally, the more Haruka _develops_ — the harder it is for him to keep his eyes on her face whenever he helps her out of the pool (and occasionally the bath, though that's much less frequent now).

The way the water slides over her skin and down her suit, tracing every curve, is actually quite sensual and extremely difficult to ignore.

He's never under any circumstances telling that to Nagisa, though.

The blond perks up and says, "You think we could use Gou-chan's sex appeal instead?"

Makoto sighs. "I think we shouldn't exploit the women in our club."

Up ahead, Haru has stopped to wait for them. Nagisa calls out to her and the three begin to walk together.

As the shorter boy babbles nonstop to the dark-haired girl (she mostly ignores him, but nods along every once in a while so he doesn't notice and complain about her lack of attention), Makoto thinks.

Honestly, despite them needing a fourth member, he desperately hopes the two boys Haru had talked to in the hall don't show up after school today.

The way they had _looked_ at Haruka, more like looking at a piece of meat than a person, haunts him.

* * *

At lunch, Haru asks him, "If people show up today… will you need me to do anything?"

Makoto smiles and shakes his head. "No, I think I can handle it. You just go ahead and swim if you'd like."

It's still a little too cold to use the pool, but he knows that's not going to stop her.

As she nods, blue eyes shining, Nagisa laughs. "That's right! Since Vice Captains don't do anything, anyway."

He sends a chastising look the blond's way. "Stop saying that. It's incredibly rude to all Vice Captains out there."

Nagisa snickers. "Including Haru-chan?"

He's so screwed. "…Well, yes…"

Haruka tears herself away from her mackerel long enough to say, "I don't particularly care."

At least she's honest.

Still, he worries about the lust-ridden boys she had thoughtlessly invited.

He won't deny — internally; externally is another issue entirely — ever having certain _thoughts_ about Haruka, but he works very hard to keep it under control.

He highly doubts these boys will exercise the same restraint.

He knows that Haruka is constantly afraid of being taken advantage of for her swimming. Of being used and thrown away like a tool. It's why she's so against the idea of acting as Rin's pacemaker.

However, he doesn't think she's ever stopped to think that there is another way in which she might be taken advantage of; one much worse than her internalized fear.

Things like this never have weighed much in Haru's mind. She's too oblivious and caught up in _swimming_ to imagine such horrors.

On the one hand, it makes Makoto happy that she isn't tormented with fearful thoughts like that. On the other, though, it just makes him worry _more_ because it means she isn't thinking to look out for herself.

Haruka is hardly the type of girl who needs protection, but he can't help but look out for her, anyway.

* * *

A whopping eleven guys show up at the pool after class has ended.

Apparently, news travels fast.

Makoto stares at them in trepidation and counts his blessings that he had managed to convince Haruka to change in the locker room today instead of just stripping — she's gotten into the habit of wearing her suit under her clothes, presumably so she can tear said clothes off whenever she pleases and dive into the nearest body of water regardless of whether it's socially acceptable. He's still working on getting her to stop — on the spot.

That sight is one a group of hormonal teenage boys definitely do not need to see.

He gives them a simple greeting and is still debating what to do when Haruka walks out. He grits his teeth as a few openly gawk at the sight of the girl in her swimsuit.

It's a pretty plain suit; a dark navy blue (almost black, really), with only a jagged purple line zigzagging through the center as decoration.

Still, a swimsuit is a swimsuit, and it reveals much more skin than the school uniform does.

Her hair is still down, as per usual, but when she sees that Makoto — the brunet being the person to generally pull her hair up for her — is preoccupied, she gives a slight frown and heads over to Nagisa.

"Do my hair?" she asks him.

He literally bounces at the rare opportunity and takes a bundle of her long locks into his hands without hesitation. "You bet, Haru-chan!"

Everyone watches, captivated, as the blond uses one tie to first pull Haruka's hair into a ponytail, and then another to pull it into a tight bun.

Once he's finished, she tests the bun with a hand and declares it to be, "Not bad."

Nagisa beams at the faint praise. "Of course! I _do_ have three older sisters, you know. Knowing this kind of stuff is practically required!"

Makoto clears his throat as she takes her position at the poolside and tries to subtly shift and block their view of her crouching form.

Irritation courses through him when a few of the boys shift as well in response, refusing to look away.

Nagisa seems to catch on to the negative vibes he's emitting, and moves closer to provide support — also conveniently blocking Haru from view.

Makoto is not a combative person by nature; in fact, it could be said that he hates confrontation and shies away from it at all costs. However, even he has limits.

Watching these men devour someone he loves with their eyes is his breaking point.

It's not about jealousy, really.

It's common _decency_. He doesn't want _anyone_ to stare at Haruka like that, himself included. It's dehumanizing.

Haruka is much more than a piece of flesh to be looked at, enjoyed, perhaps even gotten off to, and then forgotten about.

He'd feel just as upset if it were his mother or sister getting lusted after — possibly more so in the case of his sister, as she's only eleven and _he doesn't want to think about that_.

He's not one to give into anger, but just for now he'll allow the rage boiling inside him. It gives him the courage, once Haru has dived into the water, to clear his throat once more and say quietly but firmly, "I would like for everyone who is only here to see Haruka in a swimsuit to leave."

There's a stunned silence. Many of the boys glance amongst themselves in awe.

Not because he's wrong, but rather because sweet, gentle Tachibana Makoto just said something less than kind and ordered them to leave.

When no one makes a move, he continues, "That means all of you. Please leave, and don't come back."

Behind him, Nagisa gives a low whistle, almost as shocked as the affronted boys.

Makoto smiles, and they begin to file away slowly, shooting unhappy looks back at the pool. Some just keep staring at him, slack-jawed.

Not a single person protests. Probably, they were all too amazed by the novelty of this event to think about raising an objection.

Haru surfaces just as the last shamed teen slinks away. She watches him go and says not a word, but she throws him a question with her eyes.

"None of them were right for the team," he explains simply. "Sorry, but we'll have to keep looking for a fourth member."

She glances between him and the fading silhouettes briefly before letting him off with, "I trust your judgment."

Then, she sinks back underwater.

Gou cheers, "Way to go, Makoto-sempai!"

Nagisa latches onto his arm and shouts, "That was amazing, Mako-chan! I didn't know you had it in you."

He's not sure whether to be insulted or flattered. "Well, thanks…"

The blond sends him a sly look and he realizes with horror that the arm holding is not a show of affection, but rather a measure to keep him from running away. "I guess you're the type to step up when it counts, huh?"

He'll deny all charges with his dying breath. "I — I don't know what you're talking about," he laughs nervously.

Nagisa gives him an unimpressed eyebrow and drawls, "Is that so…?"

Gou laughs on the sidelines.

Makoto manages to shake him off just as Haruka pops out of the water once more. "Anyway! Now that those guys are gone, we can officially start practice!"

Ama-chan-sensei chimes in with, "Technically speaking, you can't. You're not an actual team until you get a fourth member, after all."

Haru speaks up, "Why doesn't Kou become a member, instead of just a manager?"

The girl in question freezes under the spotlight before waving her arms frantically. "Definitely not! I didn't sign up for this!"

"Are you scared, Gou-chan?"

Her face flushes as she turns on the wicked blond. "No! It has nothing to do with that. I don't want to do it because I don't swim competitively."

_Neither does Haru, and yet here she is_, he thinks.

Nagisa raises that exact point, and Gou exclaims, "It doesn't matter! Haruka-sempai is a special case. Besides, she has talent. I'm no good at swimming. And before you say anything, I have no interest in getting better."

Gou isn't budging an inch on this point. Nagisa sighs and relents, "You're no fun, Gou-chan…"

"It's Kou," she replies cheerily.

That avenue stopped at a dead end, Makoto sighs. "Back to square one, huh…"

Everyone shares another collective sigh.

However, Nagisa brightens up quickly. Makoto can see the light bulb switching on in the blond's head.

He holds his breath in preparation for what the smaller boy will say. And, with an impossibly huge smile on his face, Nagisa says this:

"Hey, hey, everyone! I just thought of the _perfect person_ to join the team!"

Their lives will never be the same again.

* * *

AN - I feel like this one turned out a little preachy. Like, Makoto is all ZOMG no don't you dare look at Haru-chan with lustful eyes! Only pure and untainted adoration is acceptable. But I wanted to have something like this, where Makoto steps up and defends Haruka, whether she realizes it or not. Honestly, by the time she realizes a guy is more focused on her than the pool, she'd just be insulted for the water's sake rather than her own, which is why poor Makoto has his work cut out for him. On another note, I fully intend to write a piece devoted just to the start of the tradition of him pulling her hair up for her. It's such a close, intimate act... Get married, guys.


	4. Slipknot Ponytail

AN - ...this was the closest trope I could get to what this chapter is about, so. As it happens the "tradition of Makoto doing Haruka's hair" was written sooner than you probably anticipated. I have like four or five ideas floating around in my head half-written and when I sat down to write this was the one that came out. Featuring some Tachibana family-times because not everything is Makoharu. I feel like given that _most_ of the story is told from Makoto's perspective his family should at least be given some attention in the background and occasionally more. Meanwhile, it is Haruka's LACK of parents that is given attention to contrast. Yeah, that's coming up later.

* * *

One day in the summer before seventh grade, Haruka comes into swim practice with her hair still down.

With her long raven locks falling to the small of her back, she seems to be more tired and sweaty than usual, he thinks.

Makoto watches as she holds her hair away from her neck to wipe it with her other hand. Haru catches him looking and strolls over.

Aware of the eyes of other members of the swim club on them, he questions, "What's up, Haruka? Why is your hair down?"

She ignores his question in favor of asking her own, "Can you tie it up for me?"

"Eh?"

It's the first time she's ever asked such a thing of him. Of course, until now she had always come with her hair already done.

Her eyes are steady and unwavering as she waits for his answer. He gulps nervously.

He has absolutely no idea how to tie a person's hair up, but… he doesn't want to disappoint her, so he says with more confidence than he feels, "Sure! I can try."

She nods and hands him the tie off her wrist before turning to give him her back. He hesitates briefly before gathering her hair in his hands — it's very soft he notes, but also quite heavy and wet with what he assumes to be sweat. It must be unbearably warm, which makes him wonder once more why she hadn't pulled her hair up before coming here — and stopping.

_Now what_, he ponders. Typically, her hair is done up in a tight bun, but he hasn't the slightest clue how to achieve such a feat. He's never in his life done a girl's hair for her.

However, a ponytail seems like it should be fairly easy to accomplish.

He hopes.

He clears his throat and asks, "Um, is a ponytail good enough for today?"

Haru is silent for a moment before responding with a small, "Yes."

He manages to pull all of her hair into one hand and rest it against the back of her head before clumsily pulling the tie through her hair. She flinches when he accidentally snags and pulls out a few strands of her hair, and he blushes in shame and apologizes.

He pulls back just slightly to look at his handiwork. The hair is all contained in the tie, but it seems rather loose so he carefully wraps the tie around her hair one more time for a tighter fit.

He takes a step back and she turns to face him. Almost immediately, as if taunting him a small chunk of hair escapes the ponytail — that he can now see is not in the center of her head like he thought, but rather off to the right by a few centimeters — to fall against the side of Haruka's face.

She raises an unimpressed eyebrow and he flushes once more, mumbling another apology.

"It's fine," she murmurs, "just try again."

"O-okay."

When his second attempt falls flat, he can't help but ask in desperation, "Why don't you do your own hair, Haru?"

Her blue eyes reveal just a hint of embarrassment before she looks away and admits, "I don't know how."

Makoto blinks in confusion. "Eh? So the person who has done your hair up to this point is—"

"My grandmother."

"So, why didn't she do it today?"

Her countenance darkens noticeably and she mutters, "…Her hands were shaking too much."

He shouldn't have asked. "…I'll try again, okay?"

Haruka nods and turns around again.

His third attempt seems promising when she turns and her hair stays firmly in place. The ponytail is still a little off-center — this time, to the left — but is otherwise passable, he thinks.

After waving her head back and forth and then testing the ponytail with her hand, Haru seems to agree and nods her thanks at him.

He smiles at the unspoken appreciation and says, "I'll help you any time you need me to, okay?"

Haruka holds his stare for a while before nodding once more and walking away. Makoto is pretty sure she is hiding a small smile behind her hand.

Her smile doesn't hold long. The ponytail falls apart when she hits the water. Her hair fans out in the pool and the poor sap in the next lane gets tangled up in it.

As she clambers out of the pool, she gives him a small scowl. His heart breaks just a little at the sight of it.

As she seeks out help from another girl, he silently vows to get better.

* * *

That night, he approaches his baby sister and begs, "Please let me practice making ponytails with your hair!"

Ran, six years old and very much a fan of her brother, accepts his request without question. He stares at her hair in bewilderment for a moment before also calling, "Mother! Please teach me how to make a tight ponytail!"

His mother strolls leisurely into the living room asks, "Why do you need to learn how, Makoto?"

He avoids her eyes and hopes he isn't blushing as he says, "Haru can't do her own hair and her grandma's getting too old to do it so I need to learn how to do it for her."

His mother is charmed by his response and gives him an indulgent smile before replying, "Alright then. I'll show you how. Watch closely."

His eyes track his mother's hands diligently as she works his sister's hair like an expert. When she has finished, the woman sits back with a self-satisfied smile and says, "There! Just let Ran-chan try and ruin _this_ ponytail."

As if in rebellion of her mother's words, the girl lets out a feral cry and begins wildly swinging her head every which way in a desperate attempt to loosen the ponytail and cause some hair to fall out — in the process, she accidentally smacks Makoto in the face with her hair. She snickers while he spits a few unruly strands out of his mouth

She tires out after a moment, and to his awe the ponytail is still perfectly intact.

His mother must be some sort of magician.

She carefully pulls the tie out of Ran's hair and hands it to Makoto. "Now it's your turn. Just try your best."

He nods and starts by carefully combing through Ran's hair as his mother had done. When his fingers snag a tangle — no doubt caused by Ran's frenetic movement earlier — and Ran cries out sharply in pain, he stops and sends his mother a frantic glance.

"Calm down," she soothes. "Just take it slow and gentle. Be careful not to pull too hard on her hair."

Makoto nods and resumes his finger-combing. After Ran's hair seems sufficiently brushed, he cautiously gathers it all in one hand and pulls the tie over it, wrapping it once, twice.

The ponytail seems to be in the right place, but when Ran repeats her rapid head swinging from earlier, it comes undone almost instantly. The tie goes flying.

Ren, watching from the table, chases after it and brings it back to them.

He tries again. And again. And again.

"I don't understand. I'm doing exactly what you're doing! Why isn't it working?"

His mother ruffles his hair and says, "It just takes practice. How to gather the hair together and how tight to make the ponytail is something that comes from experience. Keep at it!"

It takes him about twenty tries and forty-five minutes of effort, but he finally manages to make a ponytail on par with his mother's.

The next time Haruka needs her hair done up, he'll be ready.

* * *

As it happens, she needs just such a thing the next day, as well. Apparently her grandmother's condition is worsening.

Makoto catches her before she can go to the other girls for help and convinces her to let him try again.

Just as his mother taught him, he carefully combs his fingers through her hair — relishing the feeling of Haruka's long, silky hair, so different yet similar compared to Ran's — before gathering and tying it.

He steps back and she tests her ponytail in a more subdued rendition of Ran's head-banging.

"Not bad."

She's impressed. _With him_.

He ducks his head, embarrassed but happy, and admits, "I practiced last night."

"I can tell." There's no smile on her face, but he can read it in her voice, and he's soaring high until—

"Can you make it into a bun?"

"…"

"…"

"…Uh."

* * *

That night, he calls out once more:

"Ran, let me practice with your hair!"

"Eh, _again_?"

"Mother, please teach me to make a bun!"

"Yes, yes…"

And thus, a new tradition was born.

* * *

AN - Don't you love how Haruka is just drifting through life like whatever and then there's Makoto: HEY HARU HOW ARE YOU HARU WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU HARU I LOVE YOU HARU. It can only be love that she doesn't get fed up with his mushy bullshit. Also this was mostly a comic chapter but also dark foreshadowing happened. The death of Grandmother Nanase is rapidly approaching.


	5. Super Drowning Skills

AN - It's been a while since I've seen episode three, so there may be some minor differences (aside from the major ones I purposefully included; as it turns out Rei doesn't get enough flack as a guy so I decided to REALLY TORTURE him as a girl). I'm pretty sure Ama-chan-sensei was not present at the joint practice along with Gou, but she needs to be for the sake of this chapter, so she is. Also this is more about Rei's reluctance to get in the water combined with swimsuit shenanigans rather than her fail-osity, which only happens at the end, but the title was too good to pass up.

* * *

"Eh? Where's Gou-kun?"

The Iwatobi swim club blinks in unison at the fiery-haired captain of Samezuka, who wears an expression that can only be called a pout.

After a moment, Makoto ventures, "Kou-chan said she had something to do today, so she won't be joining us. Um, is that alright?"

Mikoshiba visibly slumps in disappointment. "Ah, I see… is that right…"

The brunet trades glances with Nagisa while Haru stares at the pool longingly. Behind them, Ama-chan-sensei gives a demure smile.

Ryuugazaki Rei shifts on her feet and adjusts her glasses, eyes sweeping over the room nervously. She holds onto her jacket almost like a lifeline, he can't help but think.

Strange, but he doesn't have the time to analyze it. For now, he'll place his trust in Nagisa and hope that the blond's pick pays off.

Thankfully, the captain brightens up quickly, and says boisterously, "Well, that's okay! There's always next time! Let's just get on to practice! Is this everyone on your team?"

Makoto nods the affirmative. Mikoshiba's gaze lingers just briefly on both Haruka and Rei, and he mutters, "Two girls, huh…"

Haru stares him down stolidly. "Is that a problem?"

The redhead starts a little and glances away from her powerful gaze. "N-no, not at all! I just hope you can keep up. Ha…" he laughs awkwardly before trailing away to deal with his own team.

Makoto catches Haru glancing around the room and frowns. She's probably looking for—

"Hey, hey, Mako-chan."

Nagisa pokes him in the ribs. "Don't you think Captain Mikoshiba likes Gou-chan?"

Distracted, he turns and says, "Huh? Well, maybe. Aren't you jumping to conclusions awfully quick, though? It's impossible to say based off of just that that he—"

"I bet Gou-chan used her sex appeal to convince him to set this joint practice up, but was too afraid to face the consequences, so she bailed. Yup, that's definitely it!"

He doesn't know why he bothers. Nagisa will believe whatever he pleases, anyway.

He sighs. "Get off the sex appeal, already…"

When he looks at Haru again, she's finished searching the room. Her blue eyes stare unhappy holes into the floor.

It appears that Rin will not be joining them today.

The first thing Captain Mikoshiba does is order a time test. The Iwatobi swimmers get to go first. He's probably gotten his mind off of Gou and onto scoping out the competition.

Nagisa is the first to go.

As the blond swims, Makoto does Haruka's hair. Her eyes never leave the pool.

He smiles and quietly consoles, "Be patient, Haru. Your turn will come."

She is holding a lot of tension within, and they both know that she can't wait to dive in the water and slough it off.

Despite this, she manages to relax just a fraction at his words and nod, "Yeah."

He finishes with her hair — a tight bun, perfected with practice; he likes to think he'd make Grandmother Nanase proud if she saw it — and steps back, immediately missing the warmth radiating from their proximity.

Briefly, he allows himself to entertain the fantasy that she, too, feels a significant sense of loss every time they do this. It's a nice dream.

Then, he promptly steps back into reality and dismisses the notion for what it is — ridiculous.

The fact that he and Haru will never be more than friends is something that he has (mostly) come to terms with, and by now it doesn't bother him (much).

Some might call him a coward for not even trying, for throwing in the towel before he's even let his feelings be known, but Makoto is not the type to mess with a good thing.

Not when it could potentially ruin everything.

Haruka needs him to be there for her, needs him to be her friend and pillar of support.

He just needs Haruka. He needs to be by her side, in whatever way she wants him to be.

So, he's content like this.

_Really_.

He shakes himself out of his thoughts as Nagisa climbs out of the pool. The blond seems content with his time — which Makoto is ashamed to admit he doesn't know, having not been paying attention. He's a horrible captain and _why on earth did Nagisa think he was suitable for this job _— although Samezuka is somewhat less impressed.

A quick, furtive glance around tells him that the swimming elites find Nagisa to be passable; good, but not great.

He pastes a smile on his face, hands Nagisa a towel, and says, "Good job!"

Things are going pretty smoothly, he thinks.

As if to spite him, Mikoshiba looks over and calls out, "Oi, you there!"

From where she'd been leaning against the wall and attempting to look inconspicuous, Rei freezes. She glances left and right before pointing to herself. "M-me?"

"Yeah, you're next."

"W-what?" The bespectacled girl shakes her head wildly, blue hair flying, and waves her arms frantically in front of her face. "N-no, you must be mistaken! I'm only here to watch!"

Mikoshiba cocks his head in confusion. "What's that? You're on the team, aren't you?"

She avoids his eyes and messes with her glasses again. "Well, about that…"

"Well, come on then! You're holding up practice!"

Rei casts her eyes around for help, settling on Nagisa, who urges her on with a smile. "Go on, Rei-chan! Show us what you've got."

Her face drains of color as she stands slowly and inches her way towards the pool, moving stiffly. She stops halfway as she realizes: "Wait! I don't have a swimsuit! I can't swim without one!"

Makoto can tell Samezuka's captain is getting a little fed up. "Huh? What do you mean, you _don't have one_?"

"I, um, forgot it. I'm sorry," she says with a face that almost looks relieved.

Mikoshiba sighs and says to his team, "And it's not like any of you guys are gonna have a women's swimsuit on you, huh?"

Yep, that's definitely relief on her face. Curious.

"Haruka, do you have a spare on you?"

She casts him a dubious glance. "I do, but…"she trails off to wander in front of the other girl.

Standing at an impressive 5"10', Rei towers a good five inches over Haru. In addition, despite being a year her junior, she is also more… _curvaceous _than his slender friend.

Stopping a foot away from Rei, Haru glances first up as if noting their height discrepancy, and then rests her eyes blatantly on the other girl's chest.

Rei squirms and blushes, crossing her arms in an attempt to hide herself away from Haruka's prying eyes.

Nagisa snickers, a few of the Samezuka swimmers (their captain among them) gape in shock, and Makoto can't help but palm his face at Haruka's complete and utter lack of shame.

After a moment, Haru turns her eyes towards her own chest, and she tests the give of her suit by pulling at one strap just above her breast. Satisfied, she turns to deliver her conclusion:

"It definitely won't fit."

"…Alright, then. Next time, you don't have to go quite so far, okay?" he mumbles through his hands.

At his words, she seems to finally realize that what she had done was indecent, and she turns back to the furiously blushing Rei to deliver a curt, "I'm sorry."

Rei shakes in embarrassment and manages to say despite looking like she wants to die, "…It's fine."

Mikoshiba snaps out of his daze and coughs as he clears the blush off his face. "Well, I guess there's really nothing you can do without a swimsuit. You're exempt from—"

"Wait!" Nagisa cries suddenly, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "We still have one more option!" He stabs a finger into the sky before turning on his heel to point and single out—

"Ama-chan!"

Their advisor, who had previously been lounging in a chair reading, snaps to attention as she hears her name. She looks up from her book hesitantly to see with no small amount of horror that the eyes of _every person in the room_ are on her.

Her eyes meet Nagisa's, and she stutters out, "W-w-what? Why are you pointing at me?"

Nagisa prostrates himself on the floor before her. "Ama-chan! You are our only hope! Please lend a swimsuit to Rei-chan so that she may swim!"

Her face loses all color and expression, and she slams the book down hard on the blond's exposed head — "Ow!" and everyone winces at the sound of it — before standing abruptly.

"What makes you think I _just happen_ to have a swimsuit on me?! Wouldn't it definitely be strange for me to have something such as that on me _by chance_?! What are you implying here?!"

Nagisa rubs his head and pleads, "Ow… was that really necessary, Ama-chan? Please help us…"

She glowers above him and he wilts. "…I guess if you don't have a swimsuit, then you don't have one. It's impossible. Alright, I give—"

"Wait," Ama-chan-sensei cuts him off with a word and the wave of a hand. It seems that she's thought of something. She gives Rei an appraising glance and smiles.

"_As it happens_, I actually _do_ have a swimsuit in my car! It's _totally by coincidence_, I assure you. I've been meaning to get rid of it, actually. I'll tell you what, Ryuugazaki-san, if the suit fits then you can have it!"

Rei pales and says, "No, that's really not necessary."

Ama-chan-sensei just smiles wider and grabs onto the blue-haired girl by the wrist. "Nonsense! You should at least try it."

The bespectacled girl shakes her head desperately. "No, that's really, _really_ not necessary. I mean, Amakata-sensei, you're no taller than Haruka-sempai, so if her suit wouldn't fit me then it stands to reason that yours wouldn't, either!"

Ama-chan-sensei begins dragging the poor girl out of the room. "Be that as it may, you won't know until you try it. You don't have to worry about your height causing problems, dear. Just trust me~!" she sing-songs.

The door slams shut behind them, and Rei's wailing protests fade into the distance.

The entirety of the Samezuka swim team stares in befuddlement and awe. Makoto sighs and wonders what his life has become that this is only slightly outside the norm for him.

Nagisa and Haruka both wander over to him and he asks, "Is it just me, or does Ryuugazaki-san really not want to swim?"

Nagisa frowns and suggests, "Maybe she doesn't like the water?"

Haruka takes personal offense at that. Affronted, she snaps, "We don't need someone like that on the team."

He shakes his head and chastises, "That's not something you should be saying when we desperately need a fourth member and she's considering the position, Haruka."

She holds his gaze. "Still."

He sighs and relents with a smile. "Jeez…"

_She's still just like a child_, he thinks. _Thirteen years and she hasn't changed at all._

Nagisa tosses out another idea while they wait. "Do you think she's just self-conscious? Maybe she's not very good and doesn't want to embarrass herself in front of everybody."

"It's certainly a possibility. But, who knows, really. We were so desperate for a fourth and final member that we pretty much accepted her without knowing what she's capable of. It's equally possible that she's a good swimmer and doesn't want to swim today for other personal reasons we couldn't understand."

The blond processes this and adds, "Maybe she's just body-shy! Haru-chan is kind of an exception, but most girls would be embarrassed to be seen in a swimsuit in a room full of guys."

Haruka gives Nagisa a bewildered look and says, "Why would she care about the guys when the pool is _right there_?"

She throws an arm out towards the aforementioned body of water and the boys laugh, charmed. "That's what makes you the exception, Haru-chan!"

Makoto can see in her eyes that she doesn't understand, but before she can question him Ama-chan-sensei returns, throwing the door open with a triumphant smile.

"_IT FITS!_" she crows as if it's the happiest moment of her life.

Nagisa gives a low whistle and whispers, "Wow, Ama-chan must be hiding a really nice figure behind all those flowing skirts and dresses!"

What's really terrifying is that Ama-chan-sensei overhears him, but responds with a cheerful, "I'm in such a good mood now that I'll let you get away with saying that, Nagisa-kun!"

He has no idea why she's so overjoyed, but it's kind of petrifying.

Rei has yet to come inside. They can see the top of her head through the window.

Ama-chan-sensei notices this and turns around to cajole, "Come now, Rei-chan, you look great! Come on in."

"_Absolutely not!_"

Mikoshiba, however, has had about enough of waiting. "Ryuugazaki! _Get in here_! You've held practice up more than long enough!"

For such an easygoing guy, he sure can be intimidating when he gets angry.

Probably feeling the same way, Rei reluctantly enters.

The entire room stops breathing.

She is eternally red-faced and seems to be on the verge of tears, and she is attempting to cover up as much as possible with her hands, but it does nothing to change the fact that Ryuugazaki Rei is wearing an incredibly skimpy bikini.

Patterned off the American flag, at that. The top is striped red and white. The bottom is a dark blue with white stars. It's an attractive suit.

It leaves very little to the imagination.

Nagisa whistles again and says, "Wow, American themed! How surprisingly bold of you, Ama-chan!"

Rei recovers from humiliation in favor of (probably justified) rage, and stalks into the center of the room. "Well, you got me into a swimsuit! I highly doubt this is appropriate attire for competitive swimming, though, now is it? I shouldn't be forced to swim in this!"

Mikoshiba keeps his eyes locked onto her feet, apparently too embarrassed to look anywhere else, and says, "After all the trouble of getting this far there's no backing out now. Just swim in that today, and don't go forgetting your suit again!"

The blue-haired girl drops her head into her hands when it becomes clear there's no getting out of this. Feeling bad for her, Makoto comes up to clap a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry so much," he comforts, "it's just practice. It doesn't matter. Don't sweat over the times; just do your best!"

She gives him a pained look. "It's not the times that I'm worried about!"

"Eh?"

Mikoshiba snaps, "Oi, get to the starting block already!"

Rei glares at him before carefully taking her glasses off, chucking them angrily at Nagisa (it was his fault this had all happened, after all), and taking her place at the poolside.

Everyone watches with bated breath as she dives off the edge…

"Whoa, Rei-chan has perfect form!"

"Ah!"

…And promptly belly flops into the water.

* * *

AN - I've made it my goal to make you all die of secondhand embarrassment for poor Rei. Yup. On another note, Mikoshiba is such a minor character that I'm not sure I have a good grasp on his personality yet. What do you guys think? Did he sound okay?


	6. Luminescent Blush

AN - This is alternately titled Pungeon Master, so be on the lookout for horrible puns from Nagisa. I had a terribad time looking those and Rin's joke up online. The things I do for fanfiction. Also be aware that despite the title and comedic start, this piece does get a little angsty. Makoto is a tween in love with a girl who seems to like someone else, what do you expect? Speaking of that, the Rinharu is strong with this one (and it will only get stronger; I'm warning you right now that sometime in her life Haru does date Rin and just wait for all the Rinharu and Makoto angst when it happens; this is _nothing_). Bear with it, as it does have a happy-ish end.

* * *

A few days after Nagisa and Rin fail to see Haruka smile, they try again — this time, safely at school and away from the "demonic claws" of her grandmother (Rin's words, not his).

Makoto had honestly thought them to be past this by now, but apparently that's not the case.

As always, the trouble starts with Nagisa, who, having joined them for lunch, suddenly becomes incredibly animated and shouts, "Hey! We never got to see Haru-chan smile!"

Haru's chopsticks stop midway to her mouth, and she sends the blond a flat look.

Rin, of course, latches onto the subject with just as much gusto as he had the first time. "That's right! We should remedy that right away! Show us your smile, Haruka!"

She sighs in mild irritation before turning back to her lunch. "I don't think so."

Rin frowns, but Nagisa is not to be deterred. "Come on, Rin-chan! _You_ were the one who suggested we make it a contest. The one who can make Haru-chan smiles gets a prize!"

The redhead's eyes take on that particular shine they always get when competition is involved. "Oh? And what's the prize?"

Nagisa bites his lip in concentration, thinking hard. _Never a good thing_ runs like a mantra through Makoto's head.

"The prize is that you get to see Haruka's smile before anyone else," He cuts in smoothly before the blond can suggest something outlandish.

For a moment, it seems Rin will speak up in dissent against the idea, but finally he rests his gaze upon the brooding girl and says with a fire in his eyes, "Tch! Fine, but it better be worth it."

_It is_.

Nagisa shoots his hand up into the air and waves it. "Me, me! I'll go first!"

Haruka proves that she's paying at least some attention to them by sighing and setting her food down to look at the blond. She humors him, "Go ahead."

Nagisa smiles and begins with his specialty: Puns.

"What does a clock do when it gets hungry? It goes back _four_ seconds!"

Makoto's mouth twitches upward, Rin groans ("_Lame_…"); Haruka remains expressionless. She even jokes back in her deadpan way, "You'll have to do better than that."

Rin shoves Nagisa out of the way and boasts, "My turn! This should definitely make you laugh!"

He clears his throat and says, "There are two blondes on opposite sides of a river. The first one shouts, 'how do I get to the other side of the river?' and the second one replies, 'you already are!'"

Makoto laughs and Haru remains impassive.

Nagisa scowls momentarily and jabs Rin in the side, asking, "What do you have against blonds?"

Wounded, Rin replies, "Nothing! It was just a joke. Funny, right?"

He turns eagerly to see what Haruka will say. Her verdict is a blunt, "Really, dumb blonde jokes? I honestly expected better. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that that's the best you can do."

Makoto laughs as Rin blushes furiously. The redhead turns to him and says, "Whatever! It's your turn, Makoto."

The brunet glances at Haru, who raises her eyebrow at him, and decides, "No, I think I'll just watch. Haruka will smile if she wants to."

"Bo-ring!"

Nagisa perks up. "My turn again? Okay… I tried to catch some fog, but I _mist_."

Rin moans in the background ("Oh my god, _why_…") and Haruka shakes her head. "Try again."

The blond nods, thinks, and finally says, "This girl said she recognized me from the vegetarian club, but I'd never met _herbivore_."

Rin falls on the ground in pain ("Your horrible puns are _killing me_.") and Haru sighs before dismissing the blond. "No one likes a one-trick pony, Nagisa."

The boy pouts before turning things over to Rin, who picks himself up off the ground and cracks his knuckles. "Okay! I got this."

For a moment there is silence as Rin and Haru simply stare at each other. Finally, she prompts, "Well?"

The redhead flushes. "Give me a minute! I'm thinking."

Makoto laughs softly to himself. Only Rin could get so worked up over something like this.

Speaking of Rin, it seems an idea has finally crossed his mind. He looks… almost embarrassed?

_What?_

Rin moves to sit directly in front of Haruka, but then he avoids her eyes as he discloses, "…This is kind of embarrassing, but I'm about to do the one thing my mother does to me that _always_ makes me smile. It's guaranteed to work, okay? So don't laugh."

The admission and what it promises alone is enough to make the girl's lips curve upward, but the fidgeting boy doesn't notice. "Alright."

Rin nods and starts to lean forward, before pulling back to glance at the other boys. "I mean it! Don't _any_ of you laugh."

Makoto nods his assent. Nagisa declares, "I make no promises!"

Rin grimaces at the blond, but he must recognize that it's as good as he's going to get, as he continues onward.

The redhead brings both hands to cup the girl's cheeks and leans forward until his forehead is pressed against her own.

Watching the scene, Makoto unconsciously clutches his chopsticks tighter as his mind frantically races for an explanation.

_What is he __**doing**__?!_

Never breaking eye contact, Rin takes a shuddering breath and hums, "Ha~ru~ka. Please smile for me."

He follows it up with a wide grin of his own.

For a minute, nobody moves – or even breathes.

Then Rin pulls back a few inches to look at the girl's face and scowls. "Oh, _come on_! Even after I did something as humiliating as _that_, you could at least give me _some_ kind of—"

He suddenly inhales sharply, as if stunned, and finishes dazedly, "—reaction…"

From where he's sitting, Makoto can't see Haruka's face. But Rin's _voice_ makes him wonder…

…_Can it be?_

His chest feels tight. The thought of her smiling _for Rin_ feels—

Nagisa shoves the redhead out of the way — Rin, blushing intensely and still looking kind of out of it, sort of just falls over to the side — and, much like Rin had, sucks in a breath.

_So she really is smi—_

"Rin-chan made Haru-chan _blush!_"

_**SNAP!**_

Numbly, Makoto blinks the haze that had overcome him away to find both his chopsticks broken in half in his hands. One of the splintered pieces digs into his right hand, creating a small cut. He watches a small stream of blood trickle out from the wound, still attempting to process what was happening.

Finally, he slowly shifts his gaze upwards to find that, yup, his three friends are all staring at him, askance. It's a shame he's almost as confused as they are.

Did he really just do that?

Haruka's blue eyes bore into his own, quiet concern emanating from her figure.

However, her focus on him now does nothing to change the fact that her face is indeed bright red, redder than he's ever seen it with the color spreading all across her face and to her ears and down her neck, and—

He grips the fractured chopsticks tighter, ignorant of the way the one slices deeper into his hand.

_It hurts._

Not physically, but emotionally, it hurts. It hurts, and he has absolutely no idea what to say.

While he flounders helplessly, the other three recover. Rin and Nagisa both call out his name, worried, but his throat seems to have closed up on him, and try as he might he can't get a single word out.

Haruka stands and walks to his side and, ever practical, pries the useless chopsticks out of his hands and throws them to the ground.

She remains there with her hands on his and looks at him in apprehension. She has a powerful, intimidating stare (inherited from her grandmother, no doubt), but he only ever feels a wash of calm when her gaze rests upon him.

Looking into her eyes is the only time in which the ocean doesn't terrify him.

With her eyes boring into his own, he is able to tamp down on the anxiety and smile, throat clear. "Sorry, everyone. I guess I wasn't paying enough attention to what I was doing. I'll be fine, though, so don't worry."

The other guys exchange glances at his odd behavior, but ultimately accept it.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Rin ventures, "You're bleeding."

Gripping his hand tighter, Haruka pulls him up. "I'll take him to the nurse."

As she begins to drag him away, he protests, "I'm fine, really! You don't have to do this!"

She gives him a pointed look. "We're going."

Makoto relents (she has gone into her No-Nonsense mode, meaning this is not up for discussion) and nods, letting himself be hauled along.

He can see by the tips of her ears that her face is still red; the blush refusing to fade.

But, her hand is firmly clasping his, with no indication of letting go any time soon.

He wonders which of these things is more significant to her.

He shouldn't be thinking about it.

When they get to the nurse's office, they find that she, too, is out for lunch. Of course.

Makoto sits awkwardly on the cot while Haruka rummages around the drawers looking for bandages. She finally finds them and directs him towards the sink with a word: "Wash."

He sighs and goes to rinse the cut thoroughly, and she carefully wraps the bandage around the wound when he has finished. That done, she leads him back to the cot and they both sit down, shoulders touching.

_Somehow… the atmosphere's kind of tense_.

It takes him a minute, but when he realizes that it's because Rin's presence and actions are still hanging over them, it becomes almost unbearable.

Since befriending Nagisa and Rin, the two of them have hardly gotten any time to spend by themselves, just the two of them. It's something he's been wanting for a long while, and yet…

Suddenly, with the air heavy in this room, the thought of being alone with Haruka is less than appealing.

_She probably wants to get back to Rin – and Nagisa._

He clears his throat and hates how awkward he sounds when he suggests, "Maybe we should go back? There's still ten minutes of lunch left."

She avoids his eyes and kicks her legs, muttering, "…If you want to. I've already finished eating, so I don't mind if we stay."

Realization strikes him: she _doesn't_ want to go back. Whatever her reasons for blushing had been, there's no doubt that she doesn't want to face the consequences.

If enough times passes, Rin will let it go (and Nagisa will hopefully just forget about it), but if she goes back now she'll definitely have to deal with it.

Essentially, she's picking him over Rin right now, even if it's only because she is reluctant to face the fallout for her prior reaction to Rin's antics.

He'll take what he can get.

Smiling, he says, "I'm really not injured that badly… but I don't mind staying here until lunch is over, either. Whatever you want to do, Haru."

She turns to look at him briefly, a wide range of emotions swirling behind her blank face, and nods. "Then, we'll stay."

"Alright."

Her face softens as she purposefully knocks her leg against his own and says, "…Thanks."

She's smiling.

"No problem."

Rin has made her blush, and that... bothers him. However, only _he_ has made her smile.

If he had to choose between Haruka's blush and her smile, he'd pick the smile any day.

* * *

AN - Writing Haru is a constant struggle between emotionless girl / sarcastic shit / jerk with a heart of gold / blah. I did like this chapter because I got to showcase different sides to her character, namely that she _does_ have a sense of humor and also she is a girl going through puberty and hey the guy she's crushing on got way up in her personal bubble EMBARRASSMENT. She also got to show off a more motherly side, reserved only for Makoto (their relationship is a weird cross between married couple and mutual mothering). I also had a lot of fun with Rin this episode; he's such a little cutie as a kid, so it's a shame he grows up to be a colossal dick.

A few other things: one, how do you like my Nagisa? I think he's entertaining, but does he come across as too evil and / or stupid? Does Makoto seem too wangsty, or do you think it's justified? Also I don't know if anyone noticed but I found a way to make the title RELEVANT by including it in every chapter. I don't remember if it's in the first two, but I'm pretty sure from three on the words blue eyes are somewhere in every piece. Yay.


	7. Affectionate Nickname

AN - In this installment you finally get to find out why Rin and occasionally Makoto call Haru by her full name! More than other chapters, this one really goes along with High Speed!, the novel the precedes the anime. It would _help_ you to understand the context if you've read the novel, but I think it's still fairly easy to understand without having read it. Rin's two first lines are taken straight from the translation of the novel that I have read, as well as Makoto's italicized confession. You'll notice even as a child he already held thoughts very similar to those expressed that night on the beach...

* * *

"Alright! From today onward, we're a team! Starting tomorrow, we're going to practice like crazy!"

Makoto doesn't think he's ever seen Rin quite this enthusiastic. The redhead is taking the saying, "jumping for joy" completely literally, shooting up and down on the balls of his feet like he has too much positive energy to be contained.

Nagisa, too, is joining the older boy in bouncing happily, a gigantic beam splitting across his face.

Even Makoto, while somewhat more reserved, cannot help but wear a huge smile.

They've all got plenty cause for happiness, though. When Haruka has finally, _finally_ agreed to compete in the relay after weeks of staunch aversion to the idea, how can they be anything but overjoyed?

He wishes she were smiling, though.

Haru is the only one of the newly-formed team still sporting a blank face, and for once Makoto can't read the emotion locked behind her expressionless face.

Blue eyes and a face that he knows better than his own give absolutely nothing away — whether she's doing this because she wants to, or because she is caving to the pressure, he doesn't know.

He sincerely hopes that it's the former, though. After all…

"_If you're not there, if it's not you, then it's no good. I want to swim with you, Haru!"_

He wants to swim with her more than anything, for… various reasons (she is a beacon of light that chases away his every fear, replacing it with her warmth and protection. She is also his best friend and he wants to be included in the one thing she holds most dearly: her swimming), but Haruka joining unhappily out of only a sense of obligation would be just as meaningless as her not joining at all.

He won't be happy unless _she_ is happy.

The brunet snaps out of his reverie when Rin goes on, "Oh, right, we should start calling each other by our first names. That'll make it feel more like we're comrades, don't you think? That means Nanase is now Haru."

Haru pauses in toweling her hair dry to, inexplicably, send _Makoto _a glance before turning to Rin and saying, "No."

The redhead stops and frowns, perplexed. " It's not okay? I'm just trying to bring us together as a team."

The girl states plainly, "That's fine, but my name is Haruka and not just Haru."

Rin scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, yeah, I know that, but…"

Haruka prompts, "But?"

In response, he exhales noisily and says, "_But_, it just doesn't sound right, okay? No offense, but you're not girly enough for me to call you Haruka, so just Haru is fine."

She scowls and crosses her arms. "It's not fine. I don't want you to call me that."

Rin lets out a growl of frustration, and Makoto watches the scene in a mixture of concern and befuddlement.

"Why not?" the redhead grinds out through his teeth.

Again, she looks at Makoto, who is beginning to understand less and less. "Because I don't like it. So I don't want you to call me that. Just get used to calling me by my full name or, if you prefer, I don't mind my last name."

…_She doesn't like being called Haru…?_

Makoto had had no idea. Haruka had never said anything about disliking the name until now. She hadn't given any indication that she was unhappy whenever he called her as such.

He wonders for a moment if perhaps she is vehemently arguing because she's afraid of the reaction of the class.

When she and Makoto started fourth grade, seemingly overnight the entire class turned against them for something as simple and foolish as "a boy with a girl's name calling a girl by a boy's name."

They had been teased mercilessly; Haruka hadn't been too bothered and tuned it all out for as long as possible, but Makoto had taken some of it to heart.

She was "Haru" to him, but every time the name left his lips someone would laugh at him. It hurt.

Eventually, even Haru had been unable to ignore the bullying, and rather than take it like Makoto she had clambered onto her desk and spoken out, very quietly and very dangerously (when she heard the story, her grandmother was so proud), that the matter was to be dropped.

Everyone had been frozen in fear… for all of five minutes.

And then the pair was given a new set of nicknames: Makoto, the "princess," and Haruka, the "knight" who saved "her."

The night after this terrible experience, they agreed that perhaps it would be best if Makoto referred to her by her full name in the presence of classmates.

The name "Haruka" had felt wrong on his lips for months, and in private she would always be "Haru" to him, but the teasing died down quickly after the change, so it stuck.

Makoto ponders all of this and decides that no, a reason such as this probably isn't correct — Haruka had never been hurt by the teasing back then so much as irritated by the disturbance; _he_ had been the one to suffer.

Whatever the reason, though, the message is clear: "Haru" is no longer acceptable. Suddenly, he kind of feels like crying.

He lowers his eyes from the scene before him and takes a few calming breaths, not really listening as Rin begrudgingly agrees to call the girl by her full name.

He looks up again when he is dubbed by his first name by the redheaded boy, meeting Haruka's curious gaze with a wide — fake — smile on his face.

* * *

As it happens, Rin and Nagisa both have family matters to attend to that night, so they rush off and leave Makoto alone with his childhood friend and a long walk ahead of them.

The first five minutes are spent in silence — typical for the reserved and aloof Haruka; unusual for Makoto, who generally talks at the quiet girl and celebrates the rare occasions when she talks back.

After the revelation at swim practice, he's feeling pretty down, but he doesn't want to bother her with his problems. Especially when the issue is as minor as a name.

He's literally hung up on the addition of two letters, a single syllable, to the girl's name.

He feels bad that such a small thing bothers him, so he certainly won't bog Haruka down with it.

"Makoto?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

…_Well, unless she brings it up first._

He's not startled that she noticed his internal debate, as he knows how perceptive she actually is; however, he is — pleasantly — surprised that she is pointing it out with clear concern and hopes of helping him with his worries.

And so, he can only be honest in return. "Haru — ah, Haruka…" he lets out a depressed chuckle at the slip-up, thinking, _this will only be the first of many_, and continues, "…I wasn't aware that you were against being called like that. I'm sorry if I've been bothering you. From now on, I'll try to—"

"Is that all?"

Her voice is flat, and it's clear she means no harm but the words are sharp like knives to his heart, and he can't help but feel hurt. Before he has a chance to vocalize this, though, she leans up to lightly hit him on the head with a hand, a smile in her eyes if not on her lips, and murmuring, "Idiot."

"Eh?"

She turns away as she clarifies, "…I don't mind being called that by you. I just don't want Rin or anyone else calling me like that."

Makoto's pretty sure his face just burst into flames. "W-w-what do you mean by that, Haru?"

Haruka avoids his gaze, and looks upward, telling herself and the sky more than him, "If it's Makoto, it's okay. Haru is the name that only Makoto can call me by, just like Haruka-chan is the name only my grandmother can call me by. Understand?"

He thinks her ears look red, and maybe her face too, but she is adamantly avoiding his gaze with her face turned away, so he can't be sure if that's the case.

He is certain that _his_ face is burning, though. He's so embarrassed… but also, so incredibly happy.

"I understand. Then, I'll keep calling you in the same way if it's just us."

She nods, seemingly relieved to have resolved the issue, and speeds up, still carefully concealing her face from view. It's probably for the best that she refuses to look him in the eye, because he gets the feeling that he's grinning like an idiot.

"…I kind of want to call you like that in front of Rin," he admits.

He catches her lips twitching upwards before she turns sharply around a corner, still shielding herself from his sight. "Go ahead," she says, with something he thinks — _hopes_ — might be fondness in her tone.

"Ah, but that would be rude. He might get mad."

Haruka, calm and no longer blushing (if she ever was), finally permits him to see her face, turning with an indulgent expression to say, "That's the point, isn't it?"

He laughs.

* * *

AN - ...I both like and dislike this one. I dunno, I feel like it has good moments but mostly isn't as well written as the others. But the concept that Makoto is the only one she allows to call her just "Haru" is something I definitely wanted to write, so... Basically, the two most important people in her life are her grandmother and him, and so she feels like they both have a special privilege to the names they call her by. They are the only ones she allows to call her in such a manner, to show that they matter to her more than anyone else. Not to say that Rin won't swoop in and distract her for a while but basically she's already kind of in love with Makoto here and hasn't realized it yet. I would tell them to get married, but there's no point because I'm writing this thing and I can tell you with certainty, they're gonna get married.


	8. Death is Dramatic

AN - Gee, I wonder what this chapter is about... Yup, we get to see the death of Haruka's grandmother. Naturally, you can expect this to mean Haru emoting sadly, and hopefully the way I've chosen to go about it doesn't come across as OOC. This chapter is somewhat dialogue-heavy!

* * *

It happens at the worst possible time.

It's two weeks after New Year's, the Sunday before classes start back up, and mid-morning Makoto is outside helping his mother bring in the laundry before another snowstorm hits.

(Just last week, Haruka had her hair cut. She'd only taken off a few inches, but when he asked her about it she'd been vague, dodging the question with a curt, "I felt like it.")

He and his mother get along well, probably better than what is typical for parents and children. She tells him all the time that this is due to the fact that he is the ideal child and therefore never needs to be scolded.

And so, the two are joking and enjoying each other's company as per usual when something abnormal happens:

The sound of sirens pierce through the quiet winter morning, and an ambulance stops at the bottom of the steps. Three men rush out, two of them carrying a stretcher, and run up the stairs frantically.

A police car slows to a stop behind the other vehicle, and a police officer joins the others.

Makoto clutches his mother's hand in worry; together, they watch the men hasten past their house and on up the steps.

His mother, as if reading his mind, squeezes his hand in a small gesture of comfort and whispers — to herself or to him, he's not sure — "Please don't turn left."

They turn left; his mother gasps, and his heart stops beating.

He's pulling away and running, running as fast as his legs can carry him towards Haruka's house with no one clear thought in his mind. He's driven solely by a desperate sort of urgency, a _need_ to see with his own eyes that his best friend is alright.

There's a man guarding the entrance, so he turns sharply and heads for the back door — he knows that it's not locked; it never is. That door will always be open just for him.

He tears through the house in a hurry, a frenzied shout — "_Haru!_" — leaving his lips as he searches for the girl.

Makoto heads for the living room, where he hears the voices of the medics. The men stop and shout at his sudden appearance, but he doesn't even care because—

Haru is there. She is sitting on the couch alive and well, no injuries apparent. Her hands are clutched tightly into fists in her lap; her head is lowered as she staunchly ignores the one man attempting to plead answers out of her.

For one brief second, he can't help but stop and exhale a sigh of relief, because _Haru is here, she's __**okay**_. But then, his mind catches up to him as he realizes:

_Wait, if she's not hurt, then that means—_

"Oh, no," is all he can think to utter before he runs to crouch beside her. He shakes her shoulder gently at first, and then with more force when she doesn't respond. He glances into her eyes and sees — nothing.

Her beautiful blue eyes are glazed and dark, not seeing the world around her.

The policeman tries to pull him back and he shrugs the hand off to cry shrilly, "Haru! Please, answer me!"

His voice seems to break through to her, as she finally raises her head and registers his presence for the first time.

"Makoto." Her voice is dry and scratchy, sounding as if she hasn't used it in a long time. He reads the confusion in her tone as she calls his name; he sees in her eyes how lost she is.

Makoto does the only thing he can do — he hugs Haruka to himself tightly and whispers mollification after mollification in her ear.

She makes a tiny, whimpered sound of protest, but buries her head in his shoulder nonetheless.

Probably for the best, given that two men choose that moment to cross the room, holding a body on a stretcher between them.

It crosses his mind that perhaps she might want to see them carry what remains of her grandmother — of the person whom she loved more than anyone else in the world — away, but he makes a split-second judgment call that it would be better for her mental and emotional health not to see such traumatizing thing.

She's suffered enough already.

His mother shows up at this time, having argued her way in with the guard, and stands by at the door with her hands covering her mouth in shock and horror as the men pass by her.

She repeats his earlier utterance of, "Oh, no," and strides quickly to his side. She looks like she is going to console Haruka, but the policeman catches her before she has a chance.

"Do you know this girl, ma'am?"

His mother looks at Haru with regret and tears in her eyes, but manages to compose herself to answer, "Yes, of course. I'm friends with her mother, and my son is her closest friend."

"You said her mother?"

"Huh? Ah, yes, she's an old college friend of mine…"

"So she's still alive, then?"

"W-what?! Of course she is! Why on earth would you think otherwise?"

"Well, ma'am, this girl called in about an hour ago to report her grandmother's death. She gave us all the information we needed on the phone, but wouldn't respond to a thing we said here. She told us her parents were 'gone', and since neither she nor her grandmother seems to have a cell phone we could use to find a number, we had to assume the worst."

"Oh, no, Haru-chan's parents are very much alive. They live in Tokyo."

"That's good to know. She still has family to turn to. Could you give me the number?"

"…No, I'll call them myself. Is that alright?"

"Go ahead. Always better to hear it from someone you're close to."

Makoto watches them speak and never loosens his hold on Haruka, the girl tentatively clutching at his shirt with a hand.

Other than the physical contact she is initiating, she seems to be completely frozen. She doesn't move, doesn't speak, doesn't cry — if it weren't for the small puffs of air he feels on his neck he'd worry she's not breathing.

His mother fumbles with her phone. "Hello? Yes, it's been a while, hasn't it? But, unfortunately I didn't call to talk." She sucks in a breath as she prepares herself for the announcement she has to make. "I… I have some bad news. It's your mother. She passed away last night."

Her face contorts in pain as she listens to the response on the other side. She nods and says, "Yes, of course. We'll take Haru-chan in for as long as you need us to. Hurry back."

Makoto watches as his mother lets a few tears slip out. She turns to the officer and says, "It's done. They'll be here by tomorrow. For tonight, my family would be happy to take care of Haru-chan."

The man nods. "Alright. The girl won't talk to me, so we've done all that we can do. All that's left is to make funeral arrangements."

That said, he walks out, leaving only Makoto and his mother left with the unresponsive girl.

His mother sits beside Haruka on the couch, pulling the girl to her side and wrapping her in a tight, comforting embrace. She pets Haru's hair and whispers soothingly into her ear, consoling her in a way only a mother could.

For her part, Haru leans into the hold, accepting the sort of love that, distantly, he realizes she's never really known.

She still hasn't released her grasp on his shirt.

* * *

That night, as he lies on a futon and she takes his bed (normally, back when they were still young enough to get away with boy-girl sleepovers, she would always argue against simply taking his bed, but tonight is not normal), they lie awake for hours.

Just before midnight, she rolls over to address him, voice hushed, "Makoto. I can't sleep."

"I can't either."

They pad quietly into the living room and pop in a movie, playing with the volume so low it might as well be on mute.

Over the course of the movie, she slowly… lets herself go.

They start sitting side by side, shoulders touching. Ten minutes in, she grabs his hand, to which he interlocks their fingers. A little later, she leans her head on his shoulder.

Halfway through the movie, she gives up all pretense of watching it to turn sideways and sling her other arm around his shoulder, nose nuzzling into his neck.

(Normally, something this physically intimate would excite and embarrass him immensely, but all he can focus on is what she needs right now, and she needs the comfort of touch — ironic, really, that the girl who can't stand being touched seeks solace through it. But he accepts this eccentricity just as he accepts all the others)

He wraps his free arm around her, rubbing what he hopes to be relaxing circles on her back.

Finally, as the credits start rolling, she allows herself to cry. She's so subtle, so _quiet_ about it that he doesn't realize she's actually crying until a shock of wetness hits his neck.

Tiny tremors he'd thought imagined are very much real, and he wants to — to say something, to _do_ something, _anything_ to make her feel better.

But he knows her better than himself (and she vice versa), so he knows that _this_, to let it out, is what she needs.

He waits.

"…She's gone," Haru sobs shakily.

"…Yeah."

"I'll never… never see her smile again, or joke with her again, or see her terrorize Rin and Nagisa again."

"…" Makoto tightens his hold on her, and tries (and fails) not to cry.

"…She'll never call me 'Haruka-chan' again."

Haruka inhales, deep, unsteady, and starts again, "You know, we were fighting."

This is news to him. "You were?"

"Yeah. Because I cut my hair. Grandmother didn't like it."

"It was just three inches!"

"She didn't care. It was enough to constitute a cut and not just a trim, and she was unhappy. She said I had no reason to cut it."

He wants _so badly_ to ask about her reasons for cutting it, but… that would be getting off the subject, and it would risk Haruka closing up again. So, he holds in his rampant curiosity and asks, "What did you say?"

She hesitates before murmuring, "I said I had a reason. It wasn't great enough for a huge cut, but I felt like I needed to cut some. She didn't agree."

_Just what made her want to cut her hair?_

He grits his teeth and pushes back the desire to know, keeping silent.

"The last conversation we ever had was about my hair. It was an argument."

"Haru…"

She sniffles before dropping the bomb; the reason for her intense melancholy:

"The last thing I ever told her was for her to stop _pestering_ me! And you know, she frowned — actually _frowned! _— at me and told me to _have it my way_!"

"Haru—"

"She died thinking I hated her!"

Haruka sobs openly, her grip on his hand and shoulder going painfully tight.

There's… really nothing he can say. He knows, and he knows that on some level she _must know_, that this is all just… very unfortunate timing.

An accident.

But no amount of explaining this will make her feel better. On some level, he thinks she's probably taking on a feeling of guilt on purpose, as a way to accept and mourn her grandmother's passing.

Most likely, if she didn't feel so distraught, she'd be unable to acknowledge the reality of her grandmother's death.

Understanding this, Makoto just keeps his mouth shut, tears flowing freely from his eyes, and holds her through the night.

* * *

By morning, they're both exhausted and all cried out. When her parents arrive, she greets them with a stony face.

She returns home with them wearing that same face, not showing anyone a hint of the turmoil she'd expressed to him earlier.

The funeral is the next day.

Rather than stand next to her parents, she elects to stand by him. She clenches his hand with her own so forcefully that the circulation is cut off; it turns purple for a while.

He doesn't mind; he only worries about the emotions concealed around a perfectly blank face. Outwardly, she refuses to cry, refuses to indicate anything other than detachment in the presence of so many people.

Inwardly, he knows this isn't the case.

Makoto worries endlessly about the negativity he sees floating in her eyes beneath the surface — he worries about the rage, and, quite possibly, _hatred_ directed at her own parents.

She tells him after the funeral that she'll be staying, much to his relief. His father had warned him that her grandmother's death might force Haruka to move to Tokyo with her parents.

Even if it's what's best for her… he can't quite bring himself to be happy with the thought of it. With the thought of losing her.

"So, your parents are moving back here, then?"

There is a definite pause before she averts her eyes and mutters, "…Yeah."

It's undeniably strange, and later he'll hate himself for not picking up on the reluctance to answer, but for now he's only relieved.

He hugs her once more, and says, "I know you can get past this, Haru. You're strong."

She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear as she whispers a thanks, and he smiles before continuing, "_But_, know that you're _always_ welcome at my house. Even strong people need help sometimes. Any time you want to lean on me, just ask and I'll be there. Okay?"

She's still suffering, and there is still something very _wrong_ in the world of Haruka beyond her dead grandmother, but with effort she manages to muster up a small, watery smile just for him. "Okay."

It will take time, Makoto thinks, but things really will be okay.

Someday.

* * *

AN - So what do you think? Was Haru's outburst believable? The argument that happened just before grandma's death too contrived? And yes, the parents thing is going to come back later, hence my heavy hinting at more trouble down the line. Also, it should be obvious, but she cut her hair after the race with Rin. I'm telling you because that's one thing I don't intend to write. She recognized that that day, something _broke_ and they hadn't ever gotten together but she liked him all the same so it felt right to at least cut a little hair off given that he avoided her afterwards. (Coughs if you don't know this is based off Japanese tradition; girls cut their hair after a relationship ends)

By the way something else if it's not obvious yet: Makoto's parents are meant to contrast Haru's parents. Mako has really great parents that are supportive and always there for him (AND Haru who they basically look after like she's their own), Haru's parents don't care and aren't around ever.


	9. Shipper on Deck

AN - _and now for something... completely different. **This chapter is from NAGISA'S POINT OF**** VIEW!**_ You know, this chapter was actually really hard to name, given that I had like THREE names I could have conceivably used for it. Ultimately I went with Shipper on Deck, but I heavily considered Beta Couple given how much reigisa/nagirei this chapter has. Also considered Date Peepers given that's (kind of) what they're doing. Anyways, in honor of episode 9, which I loved, have this super long piece taking place at the end of the festival!

* * *

"Can I really have these?"

All four members of the Iwatobi Swim Club stare in unison at the bag Makoto holds gently in his hands. The brunet has a soft, gleeful smile on his face as he watches the four fish in wonder.

Nagisa smiles and subtly pulls his phone out to snap a picture of the expression — he has a picture of Makoto smiling already, but not quite as nicely as this — before saying, "You're the only one likely to take care of them."

_Not to mention Haru-chan obviously got them just for you, anyway!_

As they debate over names, Nagisa takes the opportunity to glance around at his friends:

There's tall, beautiful Rei, laughing as she covers her smile behind a hand — he doesn't know why she has such a habit; it frustrates him, even, because much like Haru-chan she has a beautiful smile but hesitates to show it off to the world — with her mass of bushy blue hair contained in a simple yet elegant braid thrown over her right shoulder (where did that mask come from? He doesn't recall seeing it before she left to spy on Rin-chan…) and her dorky red glasses.

He has to admit her form-fitting yukata is rather nice, if a little dull. _Young women are supposed to wear bright and colorful yukatas, like Gou-chan and her friend!_

There's the even taller Makoto, huge and powerful while possessing the temperament of a kitten, whose eyes never stray from the fish in the bag, watching them in childlike awe. He radiates an aura of utter contentedness; his small, earnest smile is for the entire world to witness and understand that this — just this simple thing is more than enough to make him happy.

And then, there is Haruka. Haruka, who, having refused to wear a yukata, still looks rather fetching in her navy blue sundress (he hadn't realized she even _owned_ anything with a skirt besides her school uniform; generally, Haru-chan is against such things, but tonight she felt willing to dress up at least a little, rating the dress favorable to a yukata). Her hair, cut short just above her shoulders, is… different, to be sure, but not unattractive.

He understands why she cut it, certainly, but… it still seems like a waste. She's still gorgeous, though.

Especially right now, with her face bathed in the warm light of the hanging lamps and a warm smile on her face as she watches Makoto watch the fish that she had caught for him.

Yes, there is no doubt that Haru-chan has the most beautiful smile he has ever seen.

She's smiling.

…She's _smiling!_

Snapping out of his reverie, Nagisa fumbles to retrieve his phone once more. His haste catches Rei's attention, but he doesn't pay her a glance as he takes aim. He doesn't bother to be subtle, but it doesn't matter because right now Haruka seems pretty focused on something else — on some_one_ else.

_SNAP!_

The click of the camera alerts the girl and she turns to stare at Nagisa, smile slipping off her face. "What was that?"

He shouts in triumph, jumping as he pumps his fist into the air. "Yes! The elusive Haru-chan's smile, _GET!_"

Haru flushes in embarrassment as she catches on, making a reach for his phone as he dances out of the way. "Delete it!"

"Not a chance!" he crows happily. "Do you know how long I've been waiting to get a picture of you smiling?"

"Why does it matter?" she growls.

"Because you almost never smile, I wanted to capture that rare event on camera!"

This isn't the truth; honestly, over the past few months he had discreetly taken photos of _all_ the members smiling. Makoto and Gou had been easy targets, taken care of within the first week that he'd decided he wanted pictures of his teammates smiling to commemorate the happy times they spent together.

Rei and Ama-chan had provided a little more difficulty, not because they don't smile, but because they like to _hide_ their smiles in fits of shyness (Rei) or because they're being coy (Ama-chan).

Haruka had provided the ultimate level of difficulty. Nagisa knows that she _does_ smile occasionally, and they've been friends long enough that this isn't even the first time he's seen it. However, this _is_ the first time he's had a camera readily available to immortalize the infrequent occurrence.

_Wait, shoot, I forgot myself!_

The blond laughs as he evades the angry girl and readies a blinding smile for the camera, throwing up a peace sign with his free hand.

_Now, I've got the whole set!_

By this point, Haru-chan has progressed from rage to embarrassment, and she slides the mask — before she caught him fish, she and Mako-chan bought matching masks in blue and green respectively, to which he'd teased them mercilessly — over her face to cover her blush.

Makoto, ever the peacemaker, slides in between them and takes them both by the shoulder (he temporarily passed his fish on to Rei for safekeeping). "Now, now… Nagisa, you shouldn't make a big deal out of something like this. Obviously it would embarrass anyone."

He pouts. "Taking Haru-chan's side again, Mako-chan?"

Tonight is a good night for the brunet, so he remains unruffled as he chastises, "Stop that. I'm not taking any sides. You were wrong to make such a spectacle about this… but I can't fault you for wanting a picture. Haruka does have a lovely smile…"

From behind the mask a muffled, "You, too?" comes forth. The voice sounds almost betrayed.

_Et tu, Brute?_

Nagisa snickers and Makoto sends him a light glare. "Let's all just go home, okay? Starting tomorrow, practice will get tough."

The silence that follows is probably most accurately described as pouting by the blond and the masked girl.

Rei lets a small giggle loose before covering it up with her hand.

The four split into two groups once they reach the exit, Makoto and Haru heading towards their homes and Rei and Nagisa towards theirs.

The fun night came to an end…

* * *

_Not!_

About five minutes after separating from Makoto and Haru, Nagisa reaches over and grabs Rei's arm, pulling her back in the direction they'd come from.

She stares at him in shock and lets herself be dragged for a few minutes before coming to her senses and tugging her arm away. "N-Nagisa-kun! What are you doing?"

He awards her a devilish grin and says unrepentantly, "_We_ are going to spy on Mako-chan and Haru-chan, of course! So we can see if something happens!"

Rei gapes at him and adjusts her glasses before starting, "Absolutely not! That is wrong and an invasion of privacy!"

He pouts. "But, Rei-chan… don't you want to see if they'll finally get together? Now that Haru-chan has broken up with Rin-chan, Mako-chan has a chance again."

The bespectacled girl flushes, unable to deny that she _is_ interested in the proceedings, and averts her eyes as she argues, "That's entirely beside the point! We're compromising their trust by doing such a thing!"

_Desperate times call for desperate measures_.

Nagisa grabs her hands, clutching them in his own (ignoring the instantaneous blush that develops on her face) and drops to his knees, begging, "Please, Rei-chan! Be my partner in crime! I was _sure_ there was a romantic atmosphere surrounding Haru-chan and Mako-chan earlier, but nothing happened! I don't want to eavesdrop on them alone!"

She shakes wordlessly for a moment before forcibly pulling her hands away. She turns away from him and flails her arms, shouting, "Romantic? Yes, sure there _was_ a romantic atmosphere between them before you spoke up! It's completely possible that something might have happened had you not interfered, but the moment's gone now with no guarantee that anything will change!"

He can't help but flinch. She's right. He screwed up big time earlier.

"But… But, hearing what Haru-chan said, I just couldn't help but get involved, you know?"

"It's your own fault, Nagisa-kun."

"That's exactly why it's so important that I spy on them now, Rei-chan! I have to see that something still happens despite my interference so I don't have to be weighed down by guilt. But I can't do it alone. I'm not brave enough, so go with me."

Rei takes in a deep breath before sagging, turning around to mutter in defeat, "You really just want someone there to get in trouble alongside you if you get caught, right?"

He brightens. "Is that a yes?"

She sighs. "No."

"Is it a no?"

She hangs her head and starts walking. "…No."

He throws his hands up in the air and latches onto her arm briefly. "Yes! You're the best, Rei-chan! I love you!"

She blushes head to toe and pulls away to adjust her glasses (conveniently hiding her eyes from view) before moving to put a few steps between them. "You shouldn't say such things so flippantly."

He smiles. "Sorry, sorry!"

It's true, though. He does love her. Whether he's _in_ love with her… he doesn't know yet.

Maybe.

She's kind and pretty and a huge dork and _weird_ (who likes _math_? Really?) but he likes her a lot despite that, and he likes hanging out with her and teasing her, but only because he loves seeing her turn red most of all.

Rei-chan is transparent and easily flustered, making her ideal for someone like him who always searches for a reaction.

Because she's so bad at hiding her feelings, he's certain that she has a crush on him, which is probably why she's agreed to help him do this despite being a total goody-two-shoes.

He also… really likes her, and he's going to do something about that soon.

But not tonight. Tonight is about Makoto and Haruka, and he'll be damned if he misses something major like their first kiss.

* * *

It takes them about ten minutes of speed-walking to catch up to the soon-to-be lovebirds. To his disappointment, the air between them seems completely casual, with no trace of the would-be romance from earlier.

He almost accidentally reveals himself when he trips over his sandals, but Rei is quick to pull him behind a nearby building and seal his mouth with a hand so he can't let even a startled exclamation escape.

"Nagisa-kun!" she whisper-chastises, "What do you think you're doing? We were very nearly discovered right then and there! Don't you know how to spy?"

He smiles into her hand. She's gotten past her reservations and is throwing herself wholeheartedly into the covert operation.

She pulls away her hand and he whispers back, "Sorry! I tripped. I'll be more careful." She nods and he can't help but go on, "But that was impressive, Rei-chan! You reacted so quickly! You're really good at this!"

She preens a little under the compliment, giving a self-satisfied smile as she exclaims, "Of course! If there is one thing I've learned tonight while tailing Matsuoka-kun it is that I am certainly…" she pauses for dramatic effort and adjusts her glasses once more, posing ridiculously. "…an ace detective."

He giggles. It's so over the top, so utterly _ridiculous_.

So… So very much like Rei-chan, whom he loves in spite of (or more likely perhaps because of) such qualities.

She frowns. "This is no laughing matter, Nagisa-kun! If we don't hurry, we'll lose them!"

Oh, right. Tonight's about Makoto and Haruka.

He almost forgot.

The duo treads lightly but quickly, covering distance as fast as they can without their sandals causing a ruckus. In minutes, they've regained their lost ground, standing within ten to fifteen feet of the pair.

Straining their ears, they can hear the conversation:

"I still say you should name one of them Mackerel," Haru-chan insists.

Mako-chan laughs quietly and indulges her, "Okay, fine. Let's say… the matching two, they're Mackerel and Haru, the black one is Rei, and the other one is Nagisa."

The girl contemplates this for a moment before shaking her head. "No."

"Why not?"

"You forgot yourself."

"There's only four fish. I chose my name as the one to get left out."

"Then…" her voice lowers; Makoto and the spying couple step closer to hear, "…you don't need to name one Mackerel. Nagisa's idea is fine, after all."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Conversation stops for a moment, and Rei nudges him excitedly with her elbow when the pair in front of them steps closer together, seemingly unconsciously.

"So…" Makoto starts, "are you planning to grow your hair out again?"

Haruka fiddles with a lock of hair between her fingers. "I don't know. I can't deny it's easier to take care of like this, but…" she trails off, before turning to look at Makoto, "…I suppose I wouldn't mind growing it out again, either. What do you think?"

This time, he nudges Rei, throwing in a wink. _Romantic atmosphere, check!_

Mako-chan places a finger on his chin as he thinks. "Well, I guess do whatever you want. I'm sure it would be fine either way. Whatever you prefer is best."

They're getting closer to the residential area. Not much more time for something to happen, and Makoto had to go and say something that contributes nothing to the mood.

He resists the urge to palm his face with a hand in frustration.

Seemingly unsatisfied with his answer, Haru-chan looks away and mutters, "Wishy-washy."

"Eh?"

She lowers her head and speeds up a fraction, leaving him a few steps behind. "Then, let me rephrase the question. Do you prefer long hair or short hair?"

The brunet takes his time thinking over the question — but Nagisa thinks by the time he's found his answer that he still hasn't realized just why Haruka's asking him in the first place.

"If I had to pick… I guess I'd say I like long hair," he murmurs after deliberation.

She nods. "I see."

Silence reigns once more. He and Rei shake each other in anticipation, matching conspirational smiles adorning their faces.

"I'll grow my hair out again," Haruka says as if it's casual conversation completely unrelated to the previous topic.

Makoto smiles. "If that's what you want."

After another moment of silence, he starts up, "So about practice tomorrow…"

Nagisa wants to scream.

_Is that it?!_

Unwillingly, a pained noise comes rushing out of his throat due to the romantic atmosphere slipping away, and the next thing he knows he's being thrown into the bushes.

Ahead of him, Makoto and Haruka have stopped. Makoto stares fearfully at the rustling bushes and whimpers, "W-w-what was that?"

There is yet another silent moment where he fears Haruka will come to personally investigate, but just as he holds his breath in preparation of being caught he hears her say, "…An animal. _Probably_. Let's just go."

The sound of footsteps can be heard as the two slowly resume walking away from the scene.

Nagisa lets out the breath he'd been holding — or, attempts to, but he's kind of crushed under—

_Rei-chan!_

In a desperate saving throw the tall girl had tackled him bodily into the bushes. He can't breathe because he's crushed under the weight of this larger person upon him.

Which, yeah, it's a little embarrassing how much bigger this girl is than him, but he's actually a little (a lot) more focused on the fact that their bodies are pressed together from chest to feet, with their faces mere inches apart.

Rei is facing away towards the receding footsteps, and slowly lets out a breath of her own. "That was too close. We really should stop this, Na—!"

She can't help but let out a startled gasp when she registers how close they truly are, face flushing scarlet.

He literally _feels_ her entire body heat up against him, which is…

…Kind of erotic and _she needs to get off of him __**right now**__._

As if reading his mind she springs up, shaking in place and babbling incoherently with her hands on her cheeks.

He gets up into a sitting position, placing a hand over his lap in a manner that he sincerely hopes comes across as casual.

She looks so cute with her face red and her eyes rolling around frantically as she struggles to stay calm. It really makes him want to tease her, but he's afraid she'll shout and alert the others of their presence, thereby making her efforts to keep them from being spotted useless.

So, he says instead, "Nice save, Rei-chan! You really are an ace!"

She twitches in surprise, but relaxes when she realizes he's giving her a pass, face slowly returning to its usual color. "O-of course! You never should have doubted me!"

He uses his free hand to run a hand through his hair. "Sorry!"

"By the way…"

"Yeah?"

"Why… why is it so important to you to see Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai get together?"

_Ah…_ he realizes, _she's probably wanted to ask me this for a while now._

"Well, I guess because I'm just eager to see it happen. I've known them since I was in fifth grade, and even back then I knew they'd end up together, so for me it's just something that's been a long time coming. I'm sick of waiting!

"What I mean to say is… I'm really frustrated! How are they not _already _together?!"

"W-what?"

"_Look_ at them! They _do_ _everything _together, they _go everywhere_ together, the way they _smile_ at each other and _take care_ of each other… ugh!"

He stands to grab her by the shoulders, shaking her as he vents, "WHY AREN'T THEY MARRIED YET?!"

She stares in shock at him. "Nagisa-kun…"

"How oblivious can they be? I've done so much to try and get them together, trying to make Mako-chan jealous, or point out when Haru-chan is clearly showing her affection for him. _I'm_ the one who helped Mako-chan bear it when Haru-chan went out with Rin-chan!"

He feels like tearing his hair out. "I've done everything short of shoving them in a closet and telling them they can't leave until they make out! But they _still_ haven't gotten together yet despite the fact that they've been in love with each pretty much since they were born!"

"I… I think that's a slight exaggeration, Nagisa-kun."

"The moment they met, then."

"That's still a little dubious…"

"You just don't know because you only met them a few months ago. I'm really telling the truth! They've been in love for as long as I've known them."

"Between when they met each other and when they met you, that still leaves a gap of almost ten years, though…"

"Details, details!"

With a sigh, Ryuugazaki Rei gives up. It is impossible to out-stubborn Hazuki Nagisa. He's simply the best there is.

"Okay, alright, fine, I understand… You clearly have a lot of emotional investment in whether or not those two get together."

He crosses his arms. "It's not a matter of 'if', Rei-chan, but 'when'! And it's not enough for it to happen; I want to be there to _see_ it happen with my own eyes!"

With another sigh, the girl turns away from him to mutter darkly under her breath, "I can't believe I put myself in such a compromising situation with you for _this_."

Of course, the thing about Nagisa is that he has excellent (some might say devilishly so) hearing, so he catches words not meant to be heard and grins fiendishly. "Wow, how _bold_, Rei-chan! If you wanted to be on top of me, all you had to was ask!"

Rei's face turns reddish-purple, and her shout pierces the heavens as she screams, "_THAT WASN'T MY INTENTION AT ALL!_"

Eardrums ringing, he laughs and forgets for just a moment about Makoto and Haruka. He forgets that this is their night, because—

The only thing on his mind right now is that he really, _really_ likes this loud, neurotic, _beautiful_ girl.

* * *

At the doorstep to Haruka's home, Makoto pauses.

He locks eyes with the girl whom he'd been about to say goodnight to and asks, "…Did you hear that?"

She nods.

"…Didn't it sort of sound like Rei?"

She can only nod once more, amusement glittering behind blue eyes.

* * *

AN - Yay for Homestuck references. Although I couldn't format it _exactly_ as it goes there due to stubborn being a hard word to work with. Also, regarding Nagisa's huge fanboying of makoharu: in that moment, I swear we were all Nagisa. Anyways. My feelings for this chapter were mixed. On the one hand, cute reigisa (or rather, nagirei) interactions! On the other, taking the focus off of makoharu PLUS I couldn't decide if I wanted this chapter to be about Nagisa's obsession with makoharu with a little bit of his crush on Rei or about his crush on Rei with a little bit of his obsession with makoharu. It's kind of noticeable how he keeps jumping back and forth between the two. Sorry! This will probably be the only chapter with makoharu NOT as the central characters (unless I get around to that one Rin piece I have in mind), though, so hopefully you enjoyed it. Alternatively, if you didn't like it it means you won't have to suffer through it again.


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